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Region is key in Haiti aid
http://www.svherald.com/content/gabrielle-giffords/2010/02/07/region-key-haiti-aid
By Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords
Lt. Meredith Doran peers at her computer monitor at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson and sees the pain of Haiti.
Looking at aerial photos taken by Air Force planes she had dispatched, Lt. Doran makes sure that aid and supplies reach the earthquake-devastated Caribbean nation quickly.
Tucson and Port-au-Prince have little in common, yet the men and women of D-M are reaching across the 2,575 miles that separate these cities to help deliver badly needed aid to the Haitian capital.
It is a mission that makes me proud — and one that should bring pride to every resident of Southern Arizona.
As a member of the House Armed Services Committee and a representative of a district with a large military presence, I often hear from military commanders how every service member has an important role.
This couldn’t be more true than during Operation Unified Response, the military designation for the relief efforts now under way in Haiti. This rescue effort could not take place without the leadership and the skills of D-M airmen.
While the world’s eyes are focused on the airport in Port-au-Prince, men and women from Southeastern Arizona are controlling the skies above Haiti.
Air Forces Southern — the air component to U.S. Southern Command — is based at D-M and has been working around the clock planning and executing air operations since shortly after the earthquake destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure on Jan. 12.
The 612th Air Operations Center at D-M has become a control room for all civilian and military flights into Haiti.
Lt. Doran, whose family lives in Minneapolis, is one of those members of the 612th who is keeping an eye on the skies over Haiti. She receives requests from soldiers on the ground who need a large enough area where pallets of food and supplies can be dropped by parachute from Air Force C-17s.
Lt. Doran then dispatches aircraft — some manned, others unmanned — to photograph the area. After she and others identify a likely drop zone, the order is given to the crew of the cargo plane.
On a recent day, a plane dropped 15,000 meals and 15,000 liters of water in a clear area identified by Lt. Doran.
“The imagery is pretty good, so we can see what a huge tragedy it is,” Lt. Doran said. “Our hearts go out to the victims and the survivors. Here at the 612th, we are doing our best to get food and supplies to them as quickly as we can.”
I have been deeply moved by the dedication, concentration and commitment of the airmen assigned to this task.
“Yes, we’re working 24/7, but you couldn’t tell it by the faces of the people — although you could probably tell it by the empty pizza boxes and coffee cups,” said Capt. Candace N. Park of Air Forces Southern.
Capt. Park said televisions showing the news from Haiti are constantly on, and “there is a sense of urgency” among the men and women who are on duty.
The center in Tucson is handling command and control for more than 120 flights a day into an airport that handled an average of only 15 flights a day before the earthquake.
The number of daily flights at the Port-au-Prince airport is twice the amount at Tucson International Airport.
From this base in our backyard, airlift missions from the U.S. and around the world are coordinated, medical teams deployed, supplies routed to their destination and equipment delivered from across the U.S.
These missions are bringing vital medical supplies, equipment, food, water and personnel, but on any given day, the needs of the people and the Haitian government change, requiring the 612th to reroute aircraft and re-slot landing orders.
Please join me in thanking and congratulating the Airmen of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The contributions of these American heroes continue to be felt worldwide.
And today, the people of Haiti, and all of us in Arizona, are grateful for their continued service.
Gabrielle Giffords is in her second term representing Southeastern Arizona in the U.S. House.
